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HOME OF THE 'TALL MAN'...
(And you can see the blog pictures below in much greater detail simply by clicking on them)

Friday, July 17, 2015

Loosening up

I returned to the meadow I "discovered" last week, mostly because it wasn't too grueling in the way of elevation changes, and I wanted to break my semi-exhausted legs in gently after Tuesday's marathon. My right knee had stiffened up a bit Wednesday, and the left hammie that cramped right at the end of the long run still is a little sore. This route has a couple of hundred feet of climbing, but it's generally gentle and otherwise flat. I just wanted to work out the kinks, and this route was perfect for it.

It was an uneventful run. No wildlife, though they were moving a sizable herd of cattle far below along Dalton Mountain Road and I could hear their bawling clear up on top of the mountain. I'd guess they were about a mile away.

This is just a little swale that I thought looked pretty on the way back down. Probably the coolest thing about today's weather was the clarity of the air. After a few weeks of hot weather and smoke from fires in Canada, it's been windy and cooler lately and the air was crystalline. I didn't bother photographing the views from on top because I've photographed them in this log so many times before (Stonewall, Blackfoot Valley, Baldy Mountain, etc., all from a distance).

This curved pine caught my attention again today (the photo was taken last Thursday). If I ever need to build an ark (my name is Mose, after all), I have the keel ready-made.